According to press reports, a large gathering of Montgomery County, Maryland men loyal to the Union met in Rockville to decry the U.S. Senate's passage four days before of the bill for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. After speeches on the topic, a resolution passed unanimously calling on President Lincoln "to interpose his veto and protect the rights of property" should the House vote similarly in the upcoming week.  The House did pass the measure on April 11, 1862 and Lincoln signed it into law five days later.  (By John Osborne) 

General Albert Sidney Johnston, the commander of the Confederate Army of the Mississippi became the highest ranking officer to die in the war when he was wounded in the leg by a rifle shot in mid-afternoon on the first day of the Battle of Shiloh in the fighting around the Hornet's Nest.  Delaying medical treatment to continue leading his men, he bled to death in the next hour. A veteran of the Texas Army and the United States Army and three previous wars, he is buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.  (By John Osborne) 

After a successful first day in the battle around the Shiloh Church in Hardin County, Tennessee the Confederate Army of the Mississippi, despite losing their commander, had pushed Ulysses Grant's unprepared Army of the Tennessee back to defensive positions.  On the second day, however, fresh Union troops began arriving and a series of counterattacks drove the Confederates from the field. Grant did not pursue.  Almost twenty-four thousand men died on both sides in the largest battle yet fought in the Western Hemisphere. (By John Osborne)

Major General George Brinton McClellan's advance on Richmond had begun to move from Fort Monroe, Virginia over the previous few days.  His first objective was Yorktown and with his planned naval support disrupted by the Battle of Hampton Roads and the skilled maneuvering of Confederate commander John Bankhead Magruder that exaggerated his strength, McClellan settled for a siege rather than a direct attack.  The heavy siege lasted until May 3, 1862, when the Confederate defenders slipped away.  (By John Osborne)

A few days before, Commodore A.H. Foote had ordered 52 year-old Captain Henry Walke of the U.S.S. Carondelet, a 175-foot armoured steam gunboat, to run past the Confederate guns on Island Number 10 and link up with Union General John Pope to cover his intended crossing of the Mississippi.  As ordered, on the first "rainy night," the gunboat sailed at ten o'clock and made its way down the river, came under heavy fire of Confederate batteries without loss or damage, and reached New Madrid, Missouri at dawn.  (By John Osborne) 

Sailors from the U.S.S. Mercedita, under Commander H.S. Stellwagen, and the U.S.S. Sagamore, under Lieutenant A.J. Drake, approached the landing stage at Appalachicola, Florida in the late afternoon and took peaceful possession of the town.  Boat crews had captured several vessels the night before and these were sailed off or burned.  Commander Stellwagen allowed the civilians in town to retain their fishing boats and small schooners and also administered loyalty oaths to some.  (By John Osborne)

After protracted debate, the United States Senate passed the contentious bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia with a vote of twenty-nine for, fourteen against, and five senators not voting. The tally showed a distinct partisan divide since all the affirmative votes came from Republicans, while all the Democrats and Unionists voted against or absent. One Republican, John Henderson of Missouri, voted in the negative. The House voted the bill through on April 11, 1862, and President Lincoln signed it into law on April 16, 1862.  (By John Osborne)